To the ACEC Community,
This week, we’re recapping another busy and successful month for ACEC. In early April, we hosted at our Washington headquarters more than three dozen volunteer leaders from 20 Member Organizations at our leadership orientation. A week later, we replicated those numbers – and then some – at our inaugural Engineering and Public Works Workforce Summit, a gathering of leaders from associations, government, and academia to collaborate and strategize on mitigating the ongoing workforce challenge.
On the political front, our PAC has been hard at work, raising over $100,000 in the last month, while our Meetings team has been putting the finishing touches on what is certain to be an outstanding Annual Convention and Legislative Summit, scheduled to begin May 13. We wrapped up the month with a successful Engineering and Public Works Roadshow event in Charleston, SC where we were joined by Charleston Mayor William Cogswell, Congressman Jim Clyburn, and our Board Chair, Jay Wolverton to spotlight the Low Battery Reconstruction project. (click here for media coverage)
Of course, we are just days away from our Annual Convention and Legislative Summit kicking off on May 13th right here in DC, immediately followed by our sold-out celebration of engineering at the Engineering Excellence Awards on the evening of May 15th. We look forward to seeing you there. In the meantime, here are some more highlights of our work in April
Advocacy:
On April 18, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed into law a Duty to Defend bill championed by ACEC Oregon. The Minuteman Fund provided assistance for the passage of this legislation, and ACEC authored a letter to the Oregon House of Representatives in support. Hosted with APWA and ASCE a two-day workforce summit fostering collaborative discussions across national organizations and stakeholders within the public, private, and military sectors. The event featured over 50 representatives of engineering and governmental organizations, with an agreement to develop an MOU and joint organization that will identify action items and measurable metrics. Helped to secure a modification to the Federal Trade Commission rule banning noncompete agreements to allow noncompetes for any owner of a business that is being sold, instead of only individuals who own at least 25 percent of the business. Secured several key provisions in the final U.S. DOT rule updating the DBE program, including an increase in the Personal Net Worth cap, excluding retirement assets from the PNW cap, aligning business size standards with SBA size standards, and expediting interstate DBE certification. Raised over $100,000 for the PAC in April; 7 states (Hawaii, Massachusetts, Metro Washington, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Wisconsin) achieved their PAC fundraising goals. Hosted 4 MO Fly-In congressional fundraising events for Illinois, Virginia, Texas and Pennsylvania. Hosted a check drop for Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) for 28 Members of Congress raising $112,500. NRCC Chairman Rep. Richard Hudson gave an NRCC campaign update to members of ACEC Texas during their Fly-In; a senior staff member from the DCCC also gave a separate briefing on behalf of the House Democrats 2024 races.
Business Resources and Education:
Registration opened for Communication Bootcamp, a new, 5-part online course focused on the techniques and strategies to help participants strengthen their professional communication skills. The course kicks off June 20 and participants can register for the full course or choose the sessions most relevant to their communication challenges. Managing a Multi-State Business, a two-part online series geared toward helping participants better understand the requirements to successfully operate in multiple states as well as employ remote or traveling engineers kicked off in April. The first class, A Strategic Guide to Compliance & Growth, explored required registrations, professional licensing, entity ownership and structure, resources to manage registrations and licensing, and the impact of state taxes. The second class, organizing a Remote & Mobile Workforce, is scheduled for May 21 and focuses on the impact remote or traveling employees have on your business and explores policies, procedures, and best practices. Learn more here. Registration opened for the PSMJ’s Managing Small Projects workshop, one of the most popular education sessions. The course runs from May 28 to June 6. Sign up here.
Membership and MO Services:
Forty-three volunteer leaders from 20 Member Organizations attended the April 9-10 Leadership Orientation at ACEC’s headquarters. Sixteen new and existing members joined the April 22 Membership Monday session to learn about member benefits and get connected to programs and resources. Invite members of your team to sign up for the May 20 or June 17 sessions here. Membership certification, the annual process to verify information included in each firm’s member profile, is underway. If you have not responded to the request for firm verification or have questions, please reach out to certification@acec.org.
Communications and Marketing:
ACEC and ACEC SC held an Engineering and Public Works Roadshow event in Charleston on April 25th spotlighting the Low Battery Restoration Project along the city’s urban coastline. Attendees at the event included Board Chair Jay Wolverton, representatives from APWA and ASCE, as well as Congressman Jim Clyburn, Charleston Mayor William S. Cogswell, Jr., and Councilmember Michael Seekings, among others. The event was covered by print media as well as the local NBC, CBS, and FOX news outlets. The department assisted the Advocacy team with hosting our first-ever Engineering and Public Works Workforce Summit in our offices. Issue One of Engineering Inc. hit mailboxes with a cover story on the need to combat land subsidence in the face of climate change and rising sea levels. An audio version of the cover story can be heard here. ACEC’s work on the R&D tax issue was picked up by Politico Influence on April 18th.
Meetings, Awards, and Events:
Annual Convention registration at two weeks out is tracking ahead of 2023 at one week prior to that event. It is going to be a meeting you will not want to miss. Register now Beta tested the “BuddyUp” program which will allow new attendees to pair up with experienced “Event Ambassadors” at Annual Convention who will help them navigate and get the most out of the event. EEA Gala tickets have sold out! This year’s event will celebrate a record 203 entries, with the top prize, Grand Conceptor awardee being announced live on stage on May 15.
ACEC Research Institute:
Welcomed three new Board members: Robin Greenleaf, Executive Vice President/Architectural Relations and Strategic Partnerships, +IMEG; Andy McCune, President & CEO, Wade Trim; and Javier A. Baldor, CEO, BST Global. Institute Board spring meeting focused on outcomes of the Virtual Scenario Planning Workshop with 70 industry executives developing future industry scenarios for the year 2035 as part of the Firm of the Future initiative. Delivered keynote remarks at ACEC North Carolina’s FUEL NC event. The Diversity Roadmap maturity model and benchmarking tool is open to all ACEC member firms for 2023 data entry.
Have a great week,
Linda Bauer Darr
President & CEO
American Council of Engineering Companies | ACEC
